A variety of shapes and sizes of furniture have been developed over the years to provide comfort and decoration. Consumers appreciate furniture that is attractive, fits their unique style and can serve multiple purposes. Today's consumer is also increasingly mobile and so they seek furniture that is easy to move, stack and store while being able to stand-up to the wear-and-tear of everyday use. They desire furniture that can accommodate a variety of lifestyle changes, changes in living space and even be appropriate for both indoor and outdoor use. Thus, what is desirable is furniture that is versatile, durable, customizable and easy to move.
Most furniture remains static once purchased. Customers value furniture that can adapt to their ever-changing spatial needs or styles. It is desirable if one piece of furniture can be modified to provide multiple functions by adding or removing components for example, a stool that, when coupled with additional items, can become an ottoman or a chair or legs can be switched for others of varying height to go from a club chair to a bar stool.
Once purchased, consumers expect furniture that is lightweight and can be easily assembled with few or no tools. Once assembled, most furniture cannot be easily disassembled. Most furniture is assembled using nails, staples, epoxy or some other type of fastener. Most furniture requires various tools to assemble and disassemble. Further, various types of furniture have upholstery covering the fastener thus making it difficult to disassemble the furniture. This presents a challenge for consumers, especially when the furniture needs to be transported from one location to another.
One aspect that makes furniture cost-prohibitive is shipping and packaging. For example, a large piece of furniture requires a large amount of space during shipping. The non-solid shape of most furniture makes it difficult to maximize the space utilized when packaging and shipping furniture. This adds increased costs of shipping due to the amount of space the furniture requires, regardless if the furniture uses all or most of the required space. Also the weight of most furniture can be cost-prohibitive. Lightweight furniture where the components easily stack together or where the components fit inside of themselves saves money that is usually wasted on shipping.
When furniture is moved, damage frequently occurs in transit, even if customers hire professional movers. For those consumers who move frequently, it is desirable to have furniture that is made of sturdy materials that are not easily damaged. It is also desirable for that furniture to be made of modular components so if one piece is broken, only one piece needs to be replaced as opposed to the entire piece of furniture.